Due Diligence

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT DUE DILIGENCE - PAGE 3

NEW DELHI: The government is unlikely to go ahead with the due diligence for Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) till the Supreme Court hears a petition challenging the decision to privatise the oil refiner without Parliament approval, on September 1. "Data room for due diligence by bidders for government's 34.01 per cent stake will be ready by next week, by when the Supreme Court will also decide on the petition," a senior government official told after...

MUMBAI: The Aditya Birla Group will be the first bidder to initiate a due diligence exercise of Nalco, the state-run aluminium company being privatised. The group, one of the two Indian groups - the other being Sterlite Industries - to have expressed interest in Nalco, will start its due diligence exercise on Monday. There are 12 foreign companies in the race. While officials in Hindalco Industries, the group's flagship and the country's largest aluminium company, said they were still evaluating who to team up with for Nalco, the due diligence will be done by the group itself.

With political opposition to the Nalco privatisation gathering more momentum and the reluctance of the PMO to give an assurance to resolve the impasse, ministry of divestment has called off due diligence by bidders at the aluminium PSU's plants in Orissa. The due diligence exercise is unlikely to be resumed in the short term, unless of course, specific assurances are extended by the Prime Minister's Office to the bidders. Sources said that disinvestment ministry has sought specific instructions to be sent out from the PMO on Nalco divestment, but so far none has been forthcoming.

Looking for a house in one of those quite, verdant suburbs? Chances are that you would hear the word "redevelopment" from the real estate agent or the society secretary. Walk into any old locality, famous for its serene surroundings, in a big city and you would see a few deserted buildings waiting to be demolished. Even those in good conditions may be on the verge of signing a deal with a builder to transform it into a tower. Replacing the dilapidated building with sturdy and modern construction doesn't seem like a bad idea.

NEW DELHI: Fertiliser major Iffco, which has shed its earlier tight-lipped posture on bidding for National Fertilisers (NFL), will put up its 'best bid' while submitting the expression of interest (EoI) for the fertiliser major. However, a final decision on the bid will only be taken after the company completes its due diligence on the three public sector fertiliser companies being put on the block ? NFL, Madras Fertilisers and FACT. According to Iffco's managing director, US Awasthi, the panels set up for the due diligence have already visited the plants of the three companies and are likely to finalise their observations by the month-end.

MUMBAI: The divestment of Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) has entered the final phase with bidders completing their third and final round of due diligence exercise on Thursday. Of the five bidders, four ? GE Shipping, Essar Shipping, Sterlite and Videocon ? participated in the final round. BPL, however, did not take part. All five bidders had taken part in the first two rounds. However, SCI chose not to divulge details on its four joint venture companies, including the Greenfield LNG venture.

NEW DELHI: In a step forward for the big-ticket HPCL strategic sale, the government has kicked off the due diligence process for the company by inviting prospective bidders. The disinvestment ministry has sent letters to the bidders, namely Saudi Aramco, BP, Shell, Petronas, Reliance Industries, Kuwait Petroleum, Exxon and Chevron for starting the due diligence exercise from August 1. The government plans to sell 34.1% of its equity in HPCL to a strategic buyer and transfer management control.

MUMBAI: RANA Talwar's Sabre Capital Worldwide has completed its due diligence exercise on Centurion Bank. Sabre Capital has teamed up with a CDC fund and Chrysalis Capital to launch a formal bid for Centurion Bank. Sabre Capital is expected to place its offer proposal to the bank by mid- January. According to sources, if things go according to plans, the Centurion board would take up Sabre's proposal before the end of January. The due diligence was conducted by KPMG. Sabre Capital is a global fund floated by Mr Talwar, the former group CEO of Standard Chartered Plc. Sabre is understood to have suggested to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

NEW DELHI: Even as the two Nanda siblings are locking horns over the legality of Escort's decision to divest part equity in its Heart Institute, Standard Chartered Private Equity Fund on Tuesday said it was carrying out due diligence for evaluating the stake before arriving at an investment decision. "The Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre (EHIRC) deal is in due diligence stage. We normally do a comprehensive due diligence before investing," global head of Standard Chartered Private Equity Karam Butalia told PTI from Singapore.

mumbai: the divestment of indian petrochemical corporation has entered the final stage with due diligence by the three shorlisted bidders reliance industries, indian oil corporation, and nirma ending on wednesday. the ipcl management held a final meeting with ril executives here today after a similar meeting with other bidders a few days ago. the department of divestment will meet bidders after ten days to finalise the shareholder agreement. the government is planning to complete the divestment by march 15, 2001.